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Welcome to Pandemic influenza: people, policy, science

Influenza is a health threat that regularly confronts the world. Despite the preparations and control plans formulated by local, national and international organisations led by the World Health Organisation, managing the 2009 H1N1 pandemic (Swine flu) was particularly challenging.

This Australian Research Council Discovery Project examines how Australia and the UK responded to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic with the aim of informing public health authorities’ preparations for future pandemics.

The research is oriented to four questions:

How do the conditions of everyday life influence how people think, feel and act with regard to pandemic influenza?

How can people be assisted to use social and biomedical strategies to control pandemics?

What are the effects of differences in the practices of everyday citizens and the assumptions and priorities in the research and policies supporting pandemic control?

What are the political challenges for pandemic control, and how could these be addressed?